Chapter Outline:
Ch 3 Outline pgs 63-76
I. Growing Communities, Divergent Cultures
A. Early Agricultural Communities
1. Very small
2. Resembled forager settlements
3. Delegated power
4. as the community expanded, so did the government
B. Intensified settlements and its effects
1. Farming settlements started to form in Peru around 5500 B.C.
2. Aspero
a. big population
b. Infant found wrapped in textiles and covered in beads which showed the wealth of this area
3. Tisza (now Hungary) used copper and beads to make small tools
4. Bulgaria had trenches and palisades around settlements
5. in Varna there was a man found buried with 3 pounds of gold
6. In the Dnieper River there were graves found with wagons buried with the people
II. Ecology of Civilization
Four main regions
The Nile River in Egypt
Valleys of Indus River and Saraswati
Mesopotamia: Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Yellow River in China
III. The Great Floodplains
The Ecology of Egypt
South of the Delta
More hunting and gathering
Lotus and Papyrus plants
North of the Delta
Rocky rapids
Very wet in Spring and dry in Summer
Oldest Egyptian Document talks about how river didn’t flood because people neglected the gods
Queen Hatshepsut created bins to store surplus in so the people would have food during droughts
Shaduf
Can dip, hoist, reposition, over soil
Everyday Abundance
Shifting Rivers of the Indus Valley
Society called Harappan
Indus and Saraswati were more powerful than the Nile
Harappan valuables
Surplus of Agriculture
Population was always increasing
Art that showed naturalistic view of animals
Fierce Nature in Early Mesopotamia
Hostile environment
Relied on winter crops
Wheat
Barley
Onions
Chickpeas
Sesame
Plow was used around 5000 B.C.
The Good Earth of China
Isolated from other three regions
Drier climate
When it floods the land becomes very fertile
Savanna
DOESN’T PRODUCE RICE
KM
Patterns of Settlement and Labor
Number tended to grow, crowding lands.
Ur
i. Had royal tombs of staggering wealth and towering ziggurats
Ziggurats inspired by structures found in current day Iran
the culture of Mesopotamian cities developed in part as a result of cultural exchanges with an unknown civilization.
Layouts of residential and administrative zones were similar
Population density made specialization possible
i. People could devote themselves exclusively to particular crafts and trades
ii. Each sex specialized in certain occupations
Inheriting status of the father
Women’s talents focused on the home
Men were privileged
Women were textile workers, wove cotton, sometimes rulers or prophetesses, subjects of art
Women had the right to divorce, recover their property
The Egyptian State
Most common image of state was a flock the king tended like a herdsman
i. Reflects the political ideas of earlier herder communities
Food shortages were a routine hazard because the state relied on a single crop
i. Built temple for when there was famine
Temple built as Abu Simbel had storehouses big enough to feed 20,000 people for 1 year
Their king was a god
i. Could provide for a god to take up residence
Law remained in the mouth of the divine pharaoh
Religion defined moral code
Statecraft in Mesopotamia
Small rival kingdoms
i. Each was based on a single city
kings were not gods
laws were divinely inspired and ordained
Code of Hammurabi was a substitute for the physical presence and utterance of the ruler
i. Means to perpetuate royal commands
In carvings, the king was the biggest figure in any scene that included him
Oracles
i. Means of supposed access to knowing the future
ii. Told the kings what to do
The first Documented Chinese State
Resemble those of Egypt and Mesopotamia
i. Same connection between royal status and the management of water resources and the distribution of food.
unitary state
i. Shang states
Diviners: job to detect oracles’ messages
Scribes: transcribed the answers on to bone fragments
Court treasury: held millet turtle shells, and oracle bones paid in tribute
King: engaged in war
king was the mediator of the gods
viewed kingship as how well the ruler looked after his subjects’ well-being
Scholars depicted kings as kind generous rulers who fostered the arts of peace
Wealth and warfare were inseparable essentials of kingship
Ruling the Harappan World
Hints of a class or more rigid caste structure
Extensive communal quarters may have been organization of man power
No rich graves, absence of kingly quarters or regal furnishings
The Politics of Expansion
In Egypt
i. The Nile was the spine that supported a unitary state.
ii. The river was a highway through a long, thin land, helped with culture and trade
iii. The river was politically unifying
In Mesopotamia
i. Competition was likely the driving force behind the city-states
In China
i. Kings constantly rattled up and down vertical artery of the realm, the eastern arm of the Yellow River, and frenziedly did the round of towns and estates to the south
ii. Ecology of China helped protect it against ecological disaster
iii. Religion and philosophy conspired
iv. Imperial rule over the world
Literate Culture
China, Mesopotamians, and Harappans thought as civilized because of their ability to write and read
Mesopotamians
i. Writing known as cuneiform
ii. Wrote on clay tablets
Egyptians
i. Carved on Chinese oracle bones
ii. Logograms: stylized pictured
Why we can no longer claim the writing was a special feature that made first civilizations
i. Writing symbols originated independently in widely separated parts of the world and were far more varied than traditional scholarship has supposed
ii. It is not certain why we should consider writing special compared to informational-retrieval systems based on memory
iii. How much info does a system have to convey before we consider it writing?
Timeline:
I didn't know what he meant with the time chart so i just made a timeline, the online one works now.
5,000 b.c.e : First copper mine and attempts of horse domestication. : Europe (Rudna Glava) and (Sredny Stog)
5,000 b.c.e: Farmers throughout region are using plows drawn by oxen: Mesopotamia
5,000 b.c.e – 2,000 b.c.e: The great river valleys prosper: China, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Harrapa
4,000 b.c.e – 2,500 b.c.e: Monumental building projects: Mediterranean and Europe
4,000 b.c.e: Shaduf invented: Egypt
3,500 b.c.e: First wheeled vehicles: Central Europe
1,000 b.c.e: The Indus floodplain was wider then the nile: Harraba
TS
ID Terms: 1. Ecology of civilization-the interaction of people with their environment.(70)In Armesto’s case for example he states that the four river valleys housed societies more civilized than earlier samples we know of. They evolutionized and made new adapted systems and works that improved the way they do their work or live everyday life. They made new inventions and systems because they were new and made life easier. They reacted to the environment. 2. Everyday abundance- a guarantee of basic nutrition for a large population, not individual abundance. (71) While the environment provides most of the agriculture and nutrition for the people, this provides the community with more than enough food and supplies. For example Armesto details on the “food aid.” Because the Egyptians did not always have alll the resources they needed, they would trade their more abundant products to others in exchange for things they did not have.
CH Egyptian beliefs toward the afterlife –> factors that influenced and changed these views?
Egyptians believed in an afterlife which, to enter, one must have been found worthy. To determine whether or not a person could enter the afterlife, the Egyptians believed that a person’s heart was weighed against the Feather of Truth. If the heart was heavier than the feather, then the person would not be permitted to pass to the afterlife. The Negative Confession was also required as proof that the person had lived a just life. These beliefs in a good afterlife may have arisen because of the regularity of the flooding of the Nile. The Egyptians associated the river flooding with the good will of the gods, and since the Nile flooded on such a regular cycle, it may have lead the Egyptians to a belief in just, kind gods. Mesopotamian law codes; Code of Hammurabi
The Mesopotamians had several written law codes that we know of, such as the Code of Lipit-Ishtar. These codes represent the first known time a system of laws was codified and written down for the public to view. The Code of Hammurabi enforced societal order through the threat of harsh punishment, as even offenses such as stealing were punishable by death. While these strict laws no doubt helped maintain order in ancient Mesopotamia, they are disproportionately harsh in our modern view. Oracles, Augurers –> connection to religion and politics
Oracles were used in China to try to predict the future for kings. Animal bones and turtle shells were heated until they cracked, whereupon the oracle would examine the bone and predict the future from these cracks. The king of China was also considered chief mediator with the gods. This solidified religious power and political power in one person and cemented the king’s hold on power. Oracles were also used for decision making purposes in Mesopotamia. In Egypt, the pharaoh was regarded as a god, thus united religious and political power. Epic of Gilgamesh–> reflections on attitudes toward leadership
The Epic of Gilgamesh is a Mesopotamian epic poem recounting the deeds of Gilgamesh, a king who was 2/3 god and 1/3 man. It reveals that the Mesopotamians expected their leadership to be the best in all aspects of life, whether that be humting, fighting, or even how they looked. Gilgamesh was also pious and respected the gods, which reveals that this was important in Mesopotamian life.
AH
Tisza: What is now Hungary,over 7,000 yrs. ago , smelters worked copper into beads and small tools(66).
Varna: Located on the Black Sea is where “a chief was buried clutching a gold-handled axe… and nearly a thousand gold ornaments”(66).
Sredny Stog: Around 5000 B.C.E in the middle of Dnieper River (now present day Ukraine) “earliest known domesticators of horses filled their garbage dumps with horse bones”(66)
Nile River Valley: Empties into the Mediterranean, causing good food sources and fertile soil well equipped for the environment. Most of Egypt “lay about the delta, and the Nile flows from South to North”(70). Egyptians looked at their land as a gift from the gods such as how the water comes fromt the ground and not the sky.
Indus and Sarswati Rivers: Were more powerful than the Nile River, and tended to dry up or change paths leaving the people who relied on these rivers to dwindle. Barley and wheat were grown anually.
Mesopotamia: ” The Tigris and Euphrates river flood at any time”(74). Gods were thought to not be in favor of the Mesopotamian society due an environment very violent and hostile. In lower Mesopotamia the first big cities were born, but food was hard to mange due to droughts from harsh summers. All of the River valley societies rely on their environment to lead a healthy and civilized lifestyle.
BA
13. Epic of Gilgamesh –> reflections on attitudes toward leadership
Gilgamesh reflects the Mesopotamian beliefs quite vividly. The demigod status of Gilgamesh reflects the theocratic government of Mesopotamia. Also, since he only rules one city, Ur, we can infer that Mesopatamia is only a collection of city-states, each with its own leader. The common references to the gods leads us to believe that althought the gods are not perfect, they are still all-powerful; any ruler with the ability to claim godlike status such as Gilgamesh can retain full control of his subjects. Since Gilgamesh got all of his weapons and armour on a whim, we can assume that the higher classes controled the economy.
14. Shang Dynasty and early Chinese state structure; diviners and oracle bones; religious function of kings (in lieu of shaman)
During the Shang ruling dynasty, between about 3000 and 1000 B.C.E., millet sustained what were perhaps already the densest populations in the world and kept armies of tens of thousands of warriors in the field. Earliest China was a unitary state. Vital evidence about the nature of the Shang state is inscribed on the oracle bones, animal bones, and turtle shells used to foretell the future. Diviners whose job was to detect the oracles’ messages heated them to breaking point and read the gods answers to questions along the lines of the cracks. Scribes transcribed the answers onto fragments, so the bones tell of the lives and duties of kings. The king was a mediator with the gods, performing sacrifices, preparing for and conductiong oracle readings, breaking the soil, praying for rain, and founding towns. He spent half his time hunting with ambassadors and other ruling entities. The king was a substitute for the shaman, and therefore was the middleman between the gods.
15. Wu Ding
The founder of the Wu Ding dynasty, Wu Ding must have ruled about 1400 B.C.E. He was remembered 1000 years later as a conqueror who ruled his empire as easily as rolling it on his palm. He was a glorious hunter and buried one of his 64 consorts in the richest known tomb of the period.
DD
9. Methods for Surplus Storage pg.80
Food shortages in areas such as Egypt typically happen yearly the season before harvesting the crops. There were storehouses for food that would feed 20,000 people over a year’s time. Grain was among the most important foods to store in order to avoid famine when the weather became irregular.
16. Harappan city planning -> connection to social structure. pg. 85
Communal corners were ordered according to hierarchy. The arrangement of manpower (ex: soldiers, slaves, scholars) might have contributed to this system. There might also have been a system of dispersing food based on large warehouses. Harappa also had waste-disposal with clay pipes, possibly kilns and pans for bricks, and fortresses that might have been for social elites. Because of the lack of rich graves and king’s quarters, Harappan community could have been a republic or theocracy(priest-controlled government).
17. Challenges of interpreting and analyzing Harappan civilization pg.86,88
Historians cannot read Harappan writings (which are on clay seals and suggest commercial purpose) and have to base their assumptions off of archaeological evidence, especially art. There is no pictoral art that has lasted and there are few clay and bronze sculpures that artists from the society made. A Harappan elite found in Mohenjodaro has almond-shaped eyes and and a beard; he wears a headband with what is possibly a setting for a gem and a garmet over his shoulder (which was very likely a ritual practice).
18. Process of Unification in Ancient River Valley Civilizations pgs. 86-88
The Nile River in Egypt was a highway for trade and culture as well as a soil supplier for crops. River craft paintings are common in Egyptian tombs for this reason. The river also politically unified Egypt. The Pharoh used the Nile River to inspect Egypt. The country had been divided in prehistoric times into the South Kingdom (Upper Egypt) and Lower Egypt (of the delta region) . Menes conquered the delta (the Lower Region), combined it with his southern kingdom, and founded Memphis, the capital where Upper and Lower Egypt came together.
Competition was the most likely cause for the formation of Mesopotamian city-states because inscription to the cities’ gods detail victories over enemies. North Mesopotamian invaders, particularly King Sargon of Akkad, forced political change. Even after his overthrow, a new imperial direction where city-states tried to grow by conquering each other took place. Leadership stayed in the south.
Shang civilization became a regionally dominate superstate that grew south from the middle Yellow River. Chinese culture and politics were predominately in the Yangtze Valley. The Yellow River, which supported the cultivation of millet, and the rice- growing Yangtze fields were complimentary environments which protected China from ecological disaster. Chinese rulers tried to become imperial rulers of the world after China’s expansion and claimed it was a mandate of heaven, or divine order.
For centuries or possibly millineums, the thought of a mandate of heaven could have caused imperialism in neighboring Eurasia.
19. Cuneiform/Lolograms pg.88
Mesopotamians used wedge shaped writing called cuneiform to cut into clay tablets for record keeping. The symbols on China’s oracle bones were lolograms, or stylized pictures that caused mental associations with the ideas or sounds of the spoken words.
AB
EE-
6. Harappa- in 2000 BCE it was largest culture-area in the world. Over half a million square miles. This proved to be a weakness and not a strength. (Armesto 72).
Panlongcheng is the Curled dragon Town- is in Hubei. Marked the growth of the Kingdom. There is nearly one and a half acres for a governor's house surrounded by a colonnade of 43 pillars. (Armesto 77).
Mohenjadaro- 50,00-60,000 people can live in the town. (Armesto 78).
Sumer- 3000 BCE. In lower Mesopotamia. It was a land of cities. Ur, was one of the smallest cities and most famous, it was Abraham's home in the bible. Contained ziggurats that were built over 4000 years ago. (Armesto 76).
7. As the population of the community grew larger, labor specialization was made possible. The people in the community were able to train themselves in a particular craft. Woman tended to be subordinated to men. This is due to the birth rate increase. Women were "only good" and tied more to child bearing than other crafts. (Armesto 78).
8. In Mesopotamia, rivers (Tigris and Euphrates) allowed for separate city-states within the country, and the only way for unification was to engage in war. The rivers were also used to distribute the food throughout the nation. Oracles were used to predict the future of the flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates. In Egypt the Nile was also used as a method of unification of the country. The river aided the distributing of the food. The Kings were viewed as “Shepard.” The Chinese used also used the rivers (Yellow and Yangtze River) near them as a way to unify the country. Due to the fact of the unpredictability of the two rivers, the Chinese had to use the benefit of having different crops that grew in either the Yangtze (rice) area or the Yellow (millet) area. If one river was to flood, the other crops from the other area would still be alright. This caused the Chinese to accept both areas of the nation. In Harappa, they also used the rivers as unification mean. Also an increased food supply equals more political control necessary. (Armesto 86-88).
Critical Questions:
1. How did the development of agriculture intensify cultural differences? What examples are some of the most illustrative of this dynamic?
a. What political, social, and economic changes did agriculture bring and how did cultures vary as a result of these
b. Consider the differences between foraging, herding, and tilling
c. Compare the New World and Aspero 2. What challenges face historians and other scholars in attempting to study and characterize early human settlements?
a. What are the main differences between early human settlements
b. How does the inconsistency of these differences make characterization difficult
c. What does this say about cultural differences (consider how unique each settlement is) 3. How did horizontally organized societies operate differently from vertically organized societies? Which of these types existed most frequently among ancient river valley civilizations (ARVCs) and why did this tend to be the case?
a. explain the idea of horizontally and vertically organized societies, how they differ, and how they can be fused together
b. which was more prevalent in ARVCs and what caused this 4. Why does Armesto choose to focus on how historians have traditionally employed the concept of “civilization”? How does his attitude about this concept shape the way in which he addresses this period of human history?
a. What is Armesto’s attitude toward the traditional concept of “civilization”
b. What is Armesto’s concept
c. How does Armesto’s concept differ from the traditionally used concept and why does he find his more accurate 5. What common patterns and connections are evident among early civilization?
a. Compare early civilization giving at least two examples (consider political, economic, social, and religious connections)
b. Compare the structures of these civilizations
c. Why were these patterns and connections present 6. What common patterns and connections are evident among the ARVCs? How does geography shape societal, political, and/or economic dynamics in similar ways in all of these ARVCs?
a. Briefly compare the main similarities between Egypt, the Indus Valley, Mesopotamia, and China
b. Describe the geography of each and how the societal, political, and/or economic dynamics were similar relative to the geography of each
c. How did the rivers affect the ARVCs overall
PB 7. How did surplus and the development of job specialization change gender roles in ARVC cities?
a. What roles and responsibilities where given to men
b. What roles and responsibilities where given to women
c. How did this effect how society viewed them
MA 8. How did political structures influence religious beliefs? What specific examples help illustrate the dynamic relationship between these factors?
a. Define the political structures of ARVCs
b. Specific examples of important political and religious leaders were the Egyptian Pharaohs and Chinese Emperors
MA 9.How did ARVCs expand and acquire more territory and political influence? What similarities and differences exist in the processes that these civilizations undertook in their growth processes?
a. Explain how each civilization expanded
b. Compare
c. Contrast
MA 10. What role has the existence of writing played in historians’ traditional interpretation and evaluation of the ARVCs?
a. Explain the traditional interpretation and evaluation of the ARVCs by historians
b. Explain how the existence if writing has effected this
MA 11. Why does Armesto challenge this traditional interpretation of writing’s role in ARVCs? What evidence does he draw on to challenge these traditional assumptions?
a. Explain Armesto’s view on ARVCs; cite the evidence that he uses
b. Compare Armesto’s view to the traditional view
c. Tell why he challenges the traditional assumptions
MA
Ch 3 Outline pgs 63-76
I. Growing Communities, Divergent Cultures
A. Early Agricultural Communities
1. Very small
2. Resembled forager settlements
3. Delegated power
4. as the community expanded, so did the government
B. Intensified settlements and its effects
1. Farming settlements started to form in Peru around 5500 B.C.
2. Aspero
a. big population
b. Infant found wrapped in textiles and covered in beads which showed the wealth of this area
3. Tisza (now Hungary) used copper and beads to make small tools
4. Bulgaria had trenches and palisades around settlements
5. in Varna there was a man found buried with 3 pounds of gold
6. In the Dnieper River there were graves found with wagons buried with the people
II. Ecology of Civilization
- Four main regions
- The Nile River in Egypt
- Valleys of Indus River and Saraswati
- Mesopotamia: Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
- Yellow River in China
III. The Great Floodplains- The Ecology of Egypt
- South of the Delta
- More hunting and gathering
- Lotus and Papyrus plants
- North of the Delta
- Rocky rapids
- Very wet in Spring and dry in Summer
- Oldest Egyptian Document talks about how river didn’t flood because people neglected the gods
- Queen Hatshepsut created bins to store surplus in so the people would have food during droughts
- Shaduf
- Can dip, hoist, reposition, over soil
- Everyday Abundance
- Shifting Rivers of the Indus Valley
- Society called Harappan
- Indus and Saraswati were more powerful than the Nile
- Harappan valuables
- Surplus of Agriculture
- Population was always increasing
- Art that showed naturalistic view of animals
- Fierce Nature in Early Mesopotamia
- Hostile environment
- Relied on winter crops
- Wheat
- Barley
- Onions
- Chickpeas
- Sesame
- Plow was used around 5000 B.C.
- The Good Earth of China
- Isolated from other three regions
- Drier climate
- When it floods the land becomes very fertile
- Savanna
- DOESN’T PRODUCE RICE
KMTimeline:
I didn't know what he meant with the time chart so i just made a timeline, the online one works now.
TS
ID Terms:
1. Ecology of civilization-the interaction of people with their environment.(70)In Armesto’s case for example he states that the four river valleys housed societies more civilized than earlier samples we know of. They evolutionized and made new adapted systems and works that improved the way they do their work or live everyday life. They made new inventions and systems because they were new and made life easier. They reacted to the environment.
2. Everyday abundance- a guarantee of basic nutrition for a large population, not individual abundance. (71) While the environment provides most of the agriculture and nutrition for the people, this provides the community with more than enough food and supplies. For example Armesto details on the “food aid.” Because the Egyptians did not always have alll the resources they needed, they would trade their more abundant products to others in exchange for things they did not have.
CH
Egyptian beliefs toward the afterlife –> factors that influenced and changed these views?
Egyptians believed in an afterlife which, to enter, one must have been found worthy. To determine whether or not a person could enter the afterlife, the Egyptians believed that a person’s heart was weighed against the Feather of Truth. If the heart was heavier than the feather, then the person would not be permitted to pass to the afterlife. The Negative Confession was also required as proof that the person had lived a just life. These beliefs in a good afterlife may have arisen because of the regularity of the flooding of the Nile. The Egyptians associated the river flooding with the good will of the gods, and since the Nile flooded on such a regular cycle, it may have lead the Egyptians to a belief in just, kind gods.
Mesopotamian law codes; Code of Hammurabi
The Mesopotamians had several written law codes that we know of, such as the Code of Lipit-Ishtar. These codes represent the first known time a system of laws was codified and written down for the public to view. The Code of Hammurabi enforced societal order through the threat of harsh punishment, as even offenses such as stealing were punishable by death. While these strict laws no doubt helped maintain order in ancient Mesopotamia, they are disproportionately harsh in our modern view.
Oracles, Augurers –> connection to religion and politics
Oracles were used in China to try to predict the future for kings. Animal bones and turtle shells were heated until they cracked, whereupon the oracle would examine the bone and predict the future from these cracks. The king of China was also considered chief mediator with the gods. This solidified religious power and political power in one person and cemented the king’s hold on power. Oracles were also used for decision making purposes in Mesopotamia. In Egypt, the pharaoh was regarded as a god, thus united religious and political power.
Epic of Gilgamesh–> reflections on attitudes toward leadership
The Epic of Gilgamesh is a Mesopotamian epic poem recounting the deeds of Gilgamesh, a king who was 2/3 god and 1/3 man. It reveals that the Mesopotamians expected their leadership to be the best in all aspects of life, whether that be humting, fighting, or even how they looked. Gilgamesh was also pious and respected the gods, which reveals that this was important in Mesopotamian life.
AH
Tisza: What is now Hungary,over 7,000 yrs. ago , smelters worked copper into beads and small tools(66).
Varna: Located on the Black Sea is where “a chief was buried clutching a gold-handled axe… and nearly a thousand gold ornaments”(66).
Sredny Stog: Around 5000 B.C.E in the middle of Dnieper River (now present day Ukraine) “earliest known domesticators of horses filled their garbage dumps with horse bones”(66)
Nile River Valley: Empties into the Mediterranean, causing good food sources and fertile soil well equipped for the environment. Most of Egypt “lay about the delta, and the Nile flows from South to North”(70). Egyptians looked at their land as a gift from the gods such as how the water comes fromt the ground and not the sky.
Indus and Sarswati Rivers: Were more powerful than the Nile River, and tended to dry up or change paths leaving the people who relied on these rivers to dwindle. Barley and wheat were grown anually.
Mesopotamia: ” The Tigris and Euphrates river flood at any time”(74). Gods were thought to not be in favor of the Mesopotamian society due an environment very violent and hostile. In lower Mesopotamia the first big cities were born, but food was hard to mange due to droughts from harsh summers. All of the River valley societies rely on their environment to lead a healthy and civilized lifestyle.
BA
13. Epic of Gilgamesh –> reflections on attitudes toward leadership
Gilgamesh reflects the Mesopotamian beliefs quite vividly. The demigod status of Gilgamesh reflects the theocratic government of Mesopotamia. Also, since he only rules one city, Ur, we can infer that Mesopatamia is only a collection of city-states, each with its own leader. The common references to the gods leads us to believe that althought the gods are not perfect, they are still all-powerful; any ruler with the ability to claim godlike status such as Gilgamesh can retain full control of his subjects. Since Gilgamesh got all of his weapons and armour on a whim, we can assume that the higher classes controled the economy.
14. Shang Dynasty and early Chinese state structure; diviners and oracle bones; religious function of kings (in lieu of shaman)
During the Shang ruling dynasty, between about 3000 and 1000 B.C.E., millet sustained what were perhaps already the densest populations in the world and kept armies of tens of thousands of warriors in the field. Earliest China was a unitary state. Vital evidence about the nature of the Shang state is inscribed on the oracle bones, animal bones, and turtle shells used to foretell the future. Diviners whose job was to detect the oracles’ messages heated them to breaking point and read the gods answers to questions along the lines of the cracks. Scribes transcribed the answers onto fragments, so the bones tell of the lives and duties of kings. The king was a mediator with the gods, performing sacrifices, preparing for and conductiong oracle readings, breaking the soil, praying for rain, and founding towns. He spent half his time hunting with ambassadors and other ruling entities. The king was a substitute for the shaman, and therefore was the middleman between the gods.
15. Wu Ding
The founder of the Wu Ding dynasty, Wu Ding must have ruled about 1400 B.C.E. He was remembered 1000 years later as a conqueror who ruled his empire as easily as rolling it on his palm. He was a glorious hunter and buried one of his 64 consorts in the richest known tomb of the period.
DD
9. Methods for Surplus Storage pg.80
Food shortages in areas such as Egypt typically happen yearly the season before harvesting the crops. There were storehouses for food that would feed 20,000 people over a year’s time. Grain was among the most important foods to store in order to avoid famine when the weather became irregular.
16. Harappan city planning -> connection to social structure. pg. 85
Communal corners were ordered according to hierarchy. The arrangement of manpower (ex: soldiers, slaves, scholars) might have contributed to this system. There might also have been a system of dispersing food based on large warehouses. Harappa also had waste-disposal with clay pipes, possibly kilns and pans for bricks, and fortresses that might have been for social elites. Because of the lack of rich graves and king’s quarters, Harappan community could have been a republic or theocracy(priest-controlled government).
17. Challenges of interpreting and analyzing Harappan civilization pg.86,88
Historians cannot read Harappan writings (which are on clay seals and suggest commercial purpose) and have to base their assumptions off of archaeological evidence, especially art. There is no pictoral art that has lasted and there are few clay and bronze sculpures that artists from the society made. A Harappan elite found in Mohenjodaro has almond-shaped eyes and and a beard; he wears a headband with what is possibly a setting for a gem and a garmet over his shoulder (which was very likely a ritual practice).
18. Process of Unification in Ancient River Valley Civilizations pgs. 86-88
The Nile River in Egypt was a highway for trade and culture as well as a soil supplier for crops. River craft paintings are common in Egyptian tombs for this reason. The river also politically unified Egypt. The Pharoh used the Nile River to inspect Egypt. The country had been divided in prehistoric times into the South Kingdom (Upper Egypt) and Lower Egypt (of the delta region) . Menes conquered the delta (the Lower Region), combined it with his southern kingdom, and founded Memphis, the capital where Upper and Lower Egypt came together.
Competition was the most likely cause for the formation of Mesopotamian city-states because inscription to the cities’ gods detail victories over enemies. North Mesopotamian invaders, particularly King Sargon of Akkad, forced political change. Even after his overthrow, a new imperial direction where city-states tried to grow by conquering each other took place. Leadership stayed in the south.
Shang civilization became a regionally dominate superstate that grew south from the middle Yellow River. Chinese culture and politics were predominately in the Yangtze Valley. The Yellow River, which supported the cultivation of millet, and the rice- growing Yangtze fields were complimentary environments which protected China from ecological disaster. Chinese rulers tried to become imperial rulers of the world after China’s expansion and claimed it was a mandate of heaven, or divine order.
For centuries or possibly millineums, the thought of a mandate of heaven could have caused imperialism in neighboring Eurasia.
19. Cuneiform/Lolograms pg.88
Mesopotamians used wedge shaped writing called cuneiform to cut into clay tablets for record keeping. The symbols on China’s oracle bones were lolograms, or stylized pictures that caused mental associations with the ideas or sounds of the spoken words.
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6. Harappa- in 2000 BCE it was largest culture-area in the world. Over half a million square miles. This proved to be a weakness and not a strength. (Armesto 72).
Panlongcheng is the Curled dragon Town- is in Hubei. Marked the growth of the Kingdom. There is nearly one and a half acres for a governor's house surrounded by a colonnade of 43 pillars. (Armesto 77).
Mohenjadaro- 50,00-60,000 people can live in the town. (Armesto 78).
Sumer- 3000 BCE. In lower Mesopotamia. It was a land of cities. Ur, was one of the smallest cities and most famous, it was Abraham's home in the bible. Contained ziggurats that were built over 4000 years ago. (Armesto 76).
7. As the population of the community grew larger, labor specialization was made possible. The people in the community were able to train themselves in a particular craft. Woman tended to be subordinated to men. This is due to the birth rate increase. Women were "only good" and tied more to child bearing than other crafts. (Armesto 78).
8. In Mesopotamia, rivers (Tigris and Euphrates) allowed for separate city-states within the country, and the only way for unification was to engage in war. The rivers were also used to distribute the food throughout the nation. Oracles were used to predict the future of the flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates. In Egypt the Nile was also used as a method of unification of the country. The river aided the distributing of the food. The Kings were viewed as “Shepard.” The Chinese used also used the rivers (Yellow and Yangtze River) near them as a way to unify the country. Due to the fact of the unpredictability of the two rivers, the Chinese had to use the benefit of having different crops that grew in either the Yangtze (rice) area or the Yellow (millet) area. If one river was to flood, the other crops from the other area would still be alright. This caused the Chinese to accept both areas of the nation. In Harappa, they also used the rivers as unification mean. Also an increased food supply equals more political control necessary. (Armesto 86-88).
Critical Questions:
1. How did the development of agriculture intensify cultural differences? What examples are some of the most illustrative of this dynamic?
a. What political, social, and economic changes did agriculture bring and how did cultures vary as a result of these
b. Consider the differences between foraging, herding, and tilling
c. Compare the New World and Aspero
2. What challenges face historians and other scholars in attempting to study and characterize early human settlements?
a. What are the main differences between early human settlements
b. How does the inconsistency of these differences make characterization difficult
c. What does this say about cultural differences (consider how unique each settlement is)
3. How did horizontally organized societies operate differently from vertically organized societies? Which of these types existed most frequently among ancient river valley civilizations (ARVCs) and why did this tend to be the case?
a. explain the idea of horizontally and vertically organized societies, how they differ, and how they can be fused together
b. which was more prevalent in ARVCs and what caused this
4. Why does Armesto choose to focus on how historians have traditionally employed the concept of “civilization”? How does his attitude about this concept shape the way in which he addresses this period of human history?
a. What is Armesto’s attitude toward the traditional concept of “civilization”
b. What is Armesto’s concept
c. How does Armesto’s concept differ from the traditionally used concept and why does he find his more accurate
5. What common patterns and connections are evident among early civilization?
a. Compare early civilization giving at least two examples (consider political, economic, social, and religious connections)
b. Compare the structures of these civilizations
c. Why were these patterns and connections present
6. What common patterns and connections are evident among the ARVCs? How does geography shape societal, political, and/or economic dynamics in similar ways in all of these ARVCs?
a. Briefly compare the main similarities between Egypt, the Indus Valley, Mesopotamia, and China
b. Describe the geography of each and how the societal, political, and/or economic dynamics were similar relative to the geography of each
c. How did the rivers affect the ARVCs overall
PB
7. How did surplus and the development of job specialization change gender roles in ARVC cities?
a. What roles and responsibilities where given to men
b. What roles and responsibilities where given to women
c. How did this effect how society viewed them
MA
8. How did political structures influence religious beliefs? What specific examples help illustrate the dynamic relationship between these factors?
a. Define the political structures of ARVCs
b. Specific examples of important political and religious leaders were the Egyptian Pharaohs and Chinese Emperors
MA
9. How did ARVCs expand and acquire more territory and political influence? What similarities and differences exist in the processes that these civilizations undertook in their growth processes?
a. Explain how each civilization expanded
b. Compare
c. Contrast
MA
10. What role has the existence of writing played in historians’ traditional interpretation and evaluation of the ARVCs?
a. Explain the traditional interpretation and evaluation of the ARVCs by historians
b. Explain how the existence if writing has effected this
MA
11. Why does Armesto challenge this traditional interpretation of writing’s role in ARVCs? What evidence does he draw on to challenge these traditional assumptions?
a. Explain Armesto’s view on ARVCs; cite the evidence that he uses
b. Compare Armesto’s view to the traditional view
c. Tell why he challenges the traditional assumptions
MA